To Be With You Tomorrow
by mercy-angel-09
Summary: After Rory leaves for the campaign trail, Lorelai is left in Stars Hollow alone.  She soon learns that no one is ever really alone.  Part one of the Ridiculous Real Life Love Story saga.  JavaJunkie all the way!
1. Back to You

**To Be With You Tomorrow  
Chapter 1: Back to You  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: **Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have created a wonderful world that I am merely borrowing for my own happy ends, and hopefully to bring a little joy to the Gilmore faithful.  
**Author's Notes:  
**Hello and welcome to the fic. First off, this is part one of a three part-as-yet-to-be-named saga. If you were wondering, this is my take on what would have been season eight. **To Be With You Tomorrow** deals specifically with Luke and Lorelai rebuilding their relationship. Of course, the best laid plans never do go off quite as intended, so expect plenty of the unexpected. Please be aware that while I do have quite a little chunk written, I'm prone to writing myself into corners and then spending several weeks (or heaven forbid months) trying to get out of them. Please enjoy!

* * *

The house seemed empty. Even with Paul Anka waiting for her return, Lorelai admitted to herself that the house was empty. She put her trusty Jeep into park and turned off the engine. After several minutes of just sitting in the Jeep, Lorelai got out and trudged into the house.

Lorelai Gilmore prided herself in the fact that she never trudged. Even when her mother forced her into something, she never trudged. She would reluctantly shuffle instead. But Rory's departure for Barack Obama's campaign had made Lorelai trudge.

Upon actually entering the house, Lorelai became painfully aware of how big it was. When Rory was at Yale it hadn't seemed so big – of course when Rory was at Yale she would periodically come home, plus Luke had also been around, and then there was Christopher and GiGi…

Looking at the clock, Lorelai groaned as she realized that she was conscious during the unholy hour of six A.M. More precisely it was six-thirty. Rory's plane had taken off at just before six, sending the college grad into the world on her own. Back at the airport, Rory had made her mother promise to go back to bed once she got home. However Lorelai was up, showered, dressed, fed and caffinated. There was no way she was going back to bed any time soon.

Facing the inevitable, Lorelai turned back around and marched herself to Luke's Diner. She marched in and sat next to Kirk at the counter, looking around for the diner's owner and namesake.

Luke found her, as it turned out, and made her nearly jump out of her skin when he placed his hand on the small of her back. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Regaining her composure, Lorelai tried to think of why she had returned to the diner. "I need coffee," she answered weakly.

"Uh-huh," Luke replied. "After the three you had earlier?" But he still poured her a cup anyway.

Lorelai looked up at him and she felt what little composure she had left disintegrating. Luke saw the unshed tears in her eyes and quickly put the coffee pot down. "Hey, let's go home."

_Let's go home._ Three, magic little words that made Lorelai's lip quiver. Sensing that she was near a breakdown, Luke gave Cesar and Zach orders to hold down the fort and call in for back-up if need be. He was going to be out the rest of the day. Ushering Lorelai from the diner, Luke put one arm around her waist and walked her home.

"I'm pathetic," she mumbled as Luke opened the front door. "I should be happy for Rory."

"You are happy for Rory," Luke answered as he steered her towards the living room. Once there, he sat on the couch at an angle and pulled Lorelai against him. "But you're also her mother, which entitles you to be sad, too."

"I feel like an amputee," Lorelai said frankly, causing the corners of Luke's mouth to twitch up. "I keep thinking she's gonna walk out of her room and ask for coffee."

"I'm sure she misses you, too."

"Yeah, yeah," Lorelai muttered. "She's miserable following Barack Obama around." She snuggled deeper against Luke's chest and sighed. There was just something comforting about him. Perhaps it was the raw masculinity that seemed to seep from ever pore, but Lorelai took comfort in that.

"You raised a good kid, Lorelai. You should be proud of yourself."

"I had some amazing help, you know."

Luke blinked a few times in confusion. "From who?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Luke, you were there and Christopher wasn't. Plain and simple. I think, deep down, Rory thought of you as being like a dad. That's how I knew that you would do just fine with April, and you've done a great job with her."

"Mostly because I had you. You helped me, you know."

"Aw, we're mutually beneficial to each other."

"Lorelai?" Luke's tone had become very serious. Craning her neck to look at him, Lorelai found an equally serious expression on his face. He wasn't looking at her; rather he was looking at her mantle and all of the pictures that graced it.

"What?" she asked in a small voice, afraid of what he would say.

"We should go slow."

Pulling away from the comfort of his arms, Lorelai looked at Luke in confusion. "Go slow?" she parroted. "What do you mean by that?"

"We were engaged, and then we weren't. I don't think that it's wise to just jump in and pick up where we left off. I think that we should take it slow for a few months and then see where we are."

"And that means?"

"No sex, at least for a few months."

"Wow."

"Lorelai, I just don't want to rush into this and have it all fall apart. I wouldn't be able to take it. I really believe that it's for the best if we just date for a while and then take it from there."

"But Luke-"

"Think of the necklace as a promise. A promise of things to come."

"More brilliantly crafted pieces by Liz?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I really like Liz's stuff. The earrings, the other necklace, this necklace…"

Luke chuckled. "She'll be happy to hear that, you know. But you're getting me off topic. Stop doing that."

"Rats, you're on to me."

"Lorelai, I don't want to lose you again. For years I watched you with other men and it killed me. That night of the Dragonfly test run when your ex showed up swearing that you two were still an item, I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. That once again I'd been too afraid to tell you how I felt and I'd lost you. After everything that happened when our engagement ended, I decided that if I ever got the chance to make things right with you, I'd take it and I'd do it right this time."

"Okay," Lorelai said simply. "You don't move at my pace. I've always known that and I still pressured you to elope with me. That wasn't fair of me to do that to you. I should have been more understanding of your need to get to know April, to get her acclimated to the idea of not only you, but to us. I just wish that you'd let me have some contact with her. I wouldn't steal her away from you, but since she was supposed to be my stepdaughter, I thought it was only fair that I get to know her. I can understand your feelings, hell, I hated it when Sherry wanted to insta-bond with Rory, but since Chris was serious about Sherry, what choice did I have?"

Luke sighed. "I'm sorry about that. I swear, when April's up here at the end of the summer she can hang out with us, the both of us."

Smiling slightly, Lorelai leaned in and kissed Luke's rough cheek. "I would appreciate that."

* * *

Please tell me what you think! I love reviews, I reply back to most of them. For those of you who are lazy, see below.

**Copy and paste into review field if you are unable to write one of your own:**  
Squee! I love this and I'm totally addicted! Please continue! Squee!

Special thanks to **Forgotten-Relic** for being an awesome beta/sounding board.


	2. Mommy Complexities

**To Be With You Tomorrow  
Chapter 2: Mommy Complexities  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: **See chapter 1  
**Author's Notes:  
**Welcome to the second chapter. I've figured how I'm going to run the update schedule. Everytime I write a new chapter for the story, I'll post an update. I just finished chapter 4, and so I'm posting chapter 2. When I finish writing chapter 5, I'll post chapter 3 - and so on. I've also come up with a title for the saga **Ridiculous Real-Life Love Story**. Seems sort of silly and whimsical, but if it sucks, let me know and I'll attempt to come up with something better - or, to make things more interesting, go ahead and submit your ideas and if I like it, I'll dedicate that saga to you (everyone wants to be able to put on their profile that a saga was dedicated to them). The saga is about Luke and Lorelai having a little Peaches & Herb time (see episode 3.1 - Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days for my goofy little reference) during part one, dealing with a life altering crisis (for the better) in part two, and then their fairy-tale nuptials in part three. Based on that information, pull a Pat Benetar and hit me with your best shot.

Now read on, brave readers!

* * *

Lorelai had become accustomed to waking up alone. Since the divorce with Christopher, sleeping alone had become something of a normal state of affairs for her. Paul Anka wouldn't even sleep on the bed with her, so Lorelai resigned herself to the fact that she would just have to sleep alone. After all, before Luke she'd slept alone quite a bit.

Looking at the clock she groaned. If she wanted to make it in to work on time she would have to get up at that very moment. What she really wanted to do was roll over and go back to bed, and wallow in not having Rory, but she knew she had to get up and get on with her life.

And apparently Luke knew this as well.

He burst into her room holding a take-out bag and to-go cup filled with what she could smell to be his coffee. She was blinking at him in confusion, but he didn't seem bothered or out of place. "Morning," he said as he placed the coffee on the nightstand and the bag on the bed. "Rory was worried that you would have problems getting out bed this first week that she's gone so she asked me to check up on you."

"Did that also include an order of breakfast?" Lorelai asked as Luke pulled out a TV tray from the closet.

"She actually only told me to bring you coffee. The rest of the meal was my own doing."

"You're so thoughtful," Lorelai said as she dug into the bag to discover pancakes, bacon, and sausage.

"I fear the wrath of Rory," Luke deadpanned, causing Lorelai to break into cheerful smile. "It's good to see you smile."

Lorelai looked up at Luke mid-face stuffing. "Wha?" she asked.

"You were so down yesterday, and I know I didn't help at all by telling you that we had to go slow," he said slowly, "so I'm just happy to see you smiling again."

Swallowing her pancake, bacon, sausage combo, Lorelai nodded. "Yes, I seem to recall you saying something about how you just want to make me happy."

"And what would make you happy right now?" Luke asked, and then he immediately regretted asking the question by the look on Lorelia's face. "Besides me naked and in your bed."

Lorelai snapped her fingers in an, 'aw, shucks' gesture. "Drat. Well, I guess someone to eat dinner with would be nice."

"I'll pick up you up at seven." He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "Eat up, take a shower, go to work. I'll drop by the Dragonfly a little later on to see how you're doing."

"Thank you, Luke," she said as he was walking out of the bedroom door.

He turned and smiled at her. "For you, anything."

Lorelai reveled in the fact that her now semi-boyfriend was bringing her breakfast in bed, without being asked and without complaining about how she was going to eat herself to a coronary. It was refreshing to be without the lecture. When she had finished eating she took a shower and then spent nearly twenty minutes agonizing over what to wear. She wanted to look nice, because since she worked such a people-oriented position she had to look nice, but she also wanted to look nice for Luke. She finally settled on a sky blue sateen blouse and a black skirt and a pair of black pumps. Putting on the necklace that Luke had given her the other day, she looked in the mirror with satisfaction. She looked good.

When she arrived at the Dragonfly she was pleased to see that Michel hadn't sacrificed any of the guests and that Sookie hadn't burned the place to the ground. She walked into the kitchen to get some coffee and was immediately cornered by her partner. "He brought you breakfast!"

"Who brought me breakfast?" Lorelai asked.

"Luke! Miss Patty said he took off from the diner like a bat out of hell and then Babette said he just walked into your house. Can he do that?"

Lorelai laughed. "Well, he did get a key when he more or less moved into the place two years ago. After the breakup I never got around to asking for it back. It really didn't seem necessary since we were avoiding each other. I guess he dug it out and finally put it to some use. Rory asked him to look after me."

"Rory asked him?" The chef's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Sookie, that isn't code for 'I'm not wearing any underwear,'" Lorelai sighed. "My kid actually thought that I would have trouble functioning this week."

"Well, it's not like she's in New Haven anymore," Sookie commented as she began to slice tomatoes for the salads. "She's gonna be gone until Christmas."

"I know," Lorelai said, her voice tinged with pain. "My little girl is all grown up and saving the world."

Sookie laughed. "I always marvel at how fast they grow."

"They?"

"Kids. I can't believe how fast Davey and Martha are growing, and this one," she said patting her belly, "will probably grow up just as fast. Before long I'll be sending them out into the world…and they won't need me anymore…and…" Sookie's eyes began watering and Lorelai felt the tears coming as well. The two mothers hugged each other tightly and began to sob just as Jackson walked in.

"What on earth!" he said as he placed a crate of cherries on the counter. "Sookie, are you okay!"

"My babies are growing up!" she cried, and Lorelai began to sob harder.

Jackson nearly panicked, but then Lorelai straightened up and wiped the tears from her face. "Oh my God, Sookie. Look at us! We're like a couple of little old ladies! And we're not old!"

"Are you two okay?" Jackson asked again.

"We're fine," Sookie said with a dismissive laugh as she wiped her face. "Just noticing how fast kids grow up."

"Yeah, they do that," Jackson said. "Do you want to inspect my cherries or what?"

"Dirty!" Lorelai exclaimed as Sookie giggled like a little girl. "I'll leave you to Jackson's cherries." She turned to exit the kitchen.

"The fruit, Lorelai, the fruit!" Jackson called after her.

Wandering up to the front desk, she found Michel frantically typing on the computer. "What's wrong, Michel? Are you afraid that keyboard is going to give out on you?"

"No," he replied tightly. "I just have several people call to reschedule and hopefully I can just swap a few of them."

"Very smart, and very easy. No though process required," Lorelai noted.

"I thought that you would approve," he said. "By the way, your parents are here."

"What."

"They are in the dining room. Go in and say hello."

Groaning at the thought of having to face her parents on a day other than Friday night, Lorelai plastered a smile on her face and entered the dining room. "Hi Mom, hi Dad."

"Lorelai! Come, sit!" Emily said, waving her over. Lorelai did as instructed and smiled at her parents.

"So what brings you to Stars Hollow so early in the morning?" she asked politely.

"We wanted to try the breakfast," Richard answered. "I must say that this is excellent. Your friend is quite talented."

"I'll tell her you say so, Dad."

"Plus we're looking for antiques," Emily added. "There are some charming stores around here."

"Just be careful at Kim's Antiques. Mrs. Kim is very firm about the whole, 'You break it, you bought it,' thing," Lorelai said, cringing from first hand experience. "Is that all that brings you here?"

"What ever are you talking about, Lorelai?" Emily asked. "Must you always assume that there is some ulterior motive at work?"

Lorelai merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"We wanted to make sure you were okay," Richard said. He brushed off Emily's look of horror and continued, "I know that you and Rory have always been close and it must be difficult sending her into the world. But it is a far better thing you have done now than you have ever done before."

"A strange twist on Dickens there, Dad."

"I am merely making a point. You always knew that this day would come, and yes it came faster than you had originally anticipated. Sometimes that's just the way it goes." He gave Lorelai a meaningful look. "But you have raised an excellent young woman. Be proud of her."

"I am proud of her. I'm so proud I could burst with pride but it still hurts."

"Of course it does, Lorelai. It's a very strange feeling when one realizes that one's child doesn't need them any more," Emily said. Somehow Lorelai knew that her mother was thinking of her own flight from the Gilmore mansion and the "Dear Richard and Emily" letter that had been left on the dining room table. Suddenly Lorelai felt guilty for the pain that she put her parents through.

"Will it always hurt this bad?" Lorelai asked in a small voice.

Emily's face bore no traces of ill will towards her own daughter. "Eventually you realize that no matter how much you want them to need you, they don't because you did everything in your power to teach them how to survive in the world."

"Thanks, Mom."

Emily reached across the table and gently patted Lorelai's arm. Somehow the two women had reached an understanding.

* * *

And _fin_ chapter two. I have no idea how long this is going to be...it's just sort of writing itself. All I do is sit down at the computer and wonderous things come flowing out of my fingers! I claim no responsibility for the contents of this fic. Please leave reviews. See options below.

**Copy and paste into review field if you are unable to write one of your own:  
**Squee! I love this and I'm totally addicted! Please continue! Squee!

Constructive criticism and critques are welcome. Suggestions are pondered. Flames **_will be_** deleted with a sadistic laugh.

Mercy-Angel-09


	3. Lost and Found

**To Be With You Tomorrow  
Chapter 3: Lost and Found  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer:** Standard  
**Author's Notes:  
**Well folks, I'm on top of my game! I just cranked out another chapter, which means two updates in one week! Whoo! Just don't expect all of them to be this quick. I haven't recieved any suggestions for the official title of the saga, so I'll stick with what I came up with. You'll probably notice the difference in the summary.

Thank you to everyone who has added this to their story alert and favorite stories list. That means a lot to me and inspires me to write more. (Wanna know what else inspires me to write more, reviews. Yes, leave me lots of reviews...)

Big, special thanks to **Forgotten-Relic** for being such an awesome beta and idea tester. I just wish I could see you this weekend...I would totally do karoke at Willow's with you.

* * *

Lorelai dismissed herself from her parents' table and continued to do her work around the Inn. She handed out instructions to the grounds crew to make sure all of the window boxes, hanging baskets and pots on the porch were watered. She inspected the work of the new maid. She lectured Michel about using his acid tone with potential customers calling to inquire about reservations. Before she realized it, three hours had passed and her stomach was gurgling. 

"Oh man, I'm starving!" she said aloud to no one in particular. However Michel was within earshot and gave a standard response.

"How can you be starving when you eat more than any person I know?"

"You're just envious because I can eat anything I want and not gain an ounce!" Lorelai retorted.

"Oh yes, and all of the preservatives in your system will get you through a nuclear winter."

"Just me, cockroaches and Cher, baby."

"That is so wrong," Michel groaned. The phone began to ring and he answered, leaving Lorelai to ponder the lunch situation.

However she didn't have to ponder long before her parents walked into the lobby and her mother smiled brightly at her. "Lorelai, join us for some lunch!"

Well, that was an answer. And who knew, maybe it wouldn't be that bad. "Sure, but where do you want to eat? I don't think that you'd want to have lunch here since you did breakfast earlier today."

"How about Luke's?" Richard suggested. "You always talk about how wonderful the food is there."

"Yeah, but Dad, there's not a lot on the menu that your doctor would approve of," Lorelai said lightly.

"I'm sure I'll find something," he answered. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, of course!" Emily answered, taking her husband's arm and walking out the door with him. Lorelai groaned as she followed behind them. It was not on the agenda to suddenly assault Luke with her parents when they had only recently begun to repair their relationship.

Luckily Luke wasn't serving when they entered the diner. Spotting a table large enough for three, Lorelai dashed over and sat down and waved her parents over. "Lunch rush," she explained as her mother gave her a questioning look. "People are vicious when they want tables around here."

"So this is the primary restaurant in town?" Emily asked as she sat down.

"I wouldn't say the primary place," Lorelai answered thoughtfully, "but it is popular. The food is good, the atmosphere is cozy and you're always guaranteed to run into someone you know."

"Hi Lorelai," Kirk said as he walked by her table.

"Hi Kirk!" Lorelai answered with a friendly wave. "See."

"I see," Richard said with a light chuckle. "There really is something nice to be said about walking into a place and knowing everyone."

"We do get tourists," Lorelai said with a laugh, "so I don't know everyone. This isn't _Cheers_ where everybody knows your name." She pulled out the menus from between the napkin holders and the sugar, salt and pepper dispensers and handed one each to her parents. "Go ahead and look through the menu. I already know what I want."

Emily and Richard looked over the menu as Lorelai looked around the diner. Kirk was sitting at a table by himself, carefully examining his straw. Morey and Babette were eating burgers in between deep conversation. Zach was running around the diner frantically taking orders, and it was obvious that his mind was already on the tour he'd told Lorelai all about during Rory's farewell party. However Luke was nowhere to be seen.

One of Luke's other servers walked up to the table to take their orders and Lorelai quickly ordered a burger and fries. Her mother ordered a ham and Swiss sandwich on rye while her father ordered a green salad with light dressing. They were making polite conversation as they waited for their food when Luke burst into the diner, apparently upset over something.

He stormed by their table muttering angrily under his breath, and Lorelai swore she heard him say, "She's supposed to be working!" and, "She just can't vanish!" He headed up the stairs to his apartment, apparently unaware that he had just walked by Lorelai and her parents. Emily and Richard exchanged a glance, but said nothing.

A moment later Lorelai's cell phone began ringing and she pulled it out, raising an eyebrow in amusement when she looked at the caller ID. She answered with a cheerful, "Hello!"

"Lorelai, where the hell are you?" Luke bellowed into her ear.

Stifling a laugh, Lorelai stood up and began to walk towards his apartment. "Oh, I had some errands to run."

"I went to the Inn to check up on you and no one knew where you were. Michel didn't know, Sookie didn't know, not one of your staff members knew where you had vanished to!"

Making her way up the stairs, Lorelai forced herself to sound thoughtful. "Well, I had a guest ask me about the status of one of our walking paths so I went to check it out. Is that so wrong?" At this point she was standing outside of his door.

"Tell someone the next time you step out!" Luke replied tightly. "So where did this path lead you?"

Lorelai knocked on his door and she could hear him shuffling about both on the other side of the door and over the phone. She smiled brightly when he opened the door, as he looked at her in confusion as he held the phone up to his ear. "Apparently it led me to you," she said as she leaned in and gave him a soft peck on the lips.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked, feeling very stupid as he ended the phone call.

"I was in the diner when you came tearing in like a bat out of hell. My parents came up to check on me, we're in the middle of lunch. If Cesar's on top of his game, our food should be at the table and my parents are wondering if they should just start eating or wait for me."

Luke blushed, flustered that he'd made himself look like an idiot in front of Lorelai. Again. He had always tried to not look stupid in front of Lorelai. Even when he was technically with someone else (he had a painful flashback to his awkward marriage to Nicole), he never wanted to look the fool in front of Lorelai, but somehow she always brought it out in him. "Yeah, probably. Go eat. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm okay, Luke. I swear, the minute I'm not okay, I'll call you and you can bring over lots and lots of burgers and fries and other things that will kill me at a young age."

Luke wrapped one arm around her waist as he steered her back towards the diner. "Come on, Crazy Lady. Back to lunch with your parents." He leaned over and gently kissed the top of her head. "So why are you having lunch with your parents?"

"I dunno, seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Seriously?"

"I think we've reached an understanding. I really think that everything will be relatively okay from here on out." Lorelai shrugged. "It's not that bad."

Back in the dining room, Luke escorted Lorelai to her table and offered up a polite smile to Emily and Richard. "Nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore."

"Nice to see you, Luke," Richard said. "That was a heck of a party you threw for Rory."

"Well, I've known them for years," Luke admitted sheepishly. "I knew that Rory wanted to be able to say good-bye to everyone in town, it just seemed practical to do it at once."

"Very practical," Emily noted as she sipped her drink.

"It was sweet of him," Lorelai said, flashing him a grateful smile as she sat down.

"Indeed," Richard answered. "I must ask, are all of ingredients in the salad fresh?"

"Most of them are a few days off the farm," Luke answered with a nonchalant shrug. "Almost all of it is grown locally."

"Fresh ingredients make the dish," Richard said. "Emily, you must try a bite of the salad. And this dressing!"

"That would be Lane's doing," Luke answered.

"Lane?" Lorelai asked.

"Apparently Mrs. Kim mixed some up and gave a whole bunch to Lane and Zach. With so much of it, they brought a few bottles to the diner and I tried it one night. Who knew that it would actually be good?"

"I have got to try this," Lorelai said, grabbing her fork and spearing a piece of lettuce that was clearly swimming in Mrs. Kim's magic dressing. She tentatively placed it her mouth before she let out a moan of pleasure. "Oh my God that's good! What's in it?"

"Sesame, ginger, ginseng and a splash of soy sauce," Luke answered. "It sounded like a weird combo, but it actually tastes great."

"Hidden Valley's got nothing on this," Lorelai said. "I'm gonna order a lot more salads."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Drat."

* * *

Tee-hee! Poor Lorelai, open mouth, insert foot. 

At any rate, I want to take my time with this story so I have no idea how long it will be. The whole idea is that Luke and Lorelai are rediscovering their love. Yes, they are still in love with each other from the first go-round, but they're discovering new reasons to love each other. Expect lots of sap and fluff when it really comes down to it. This story (and saga) will be smut free because, well, I get caught up in technical terms for one (and then it sounds like Paris wrote it) and two, I sitll break into giggles at the idea of me writing smut. I'll read smut, but I just can't bring myself to actually write it.

**Copy and paste into review field if you are unable to write one of your own:  
**Squee! I love this and I'm totally addicted! Please continue! Squee!

Constructive criticism and critques are welcome. Suggestions are pondered. Flames **_will be_** deleted with a sadistic laugh.

Love you all! -- Mercy-Angel-09


	4. Revelations

**To Be With You Tomorrow  
Chapter 4: Revelations  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: **Standard  
**Author's Notes:  
**I apologize for the wait here folks. As I said in the previous chapter, I update when I finish a new chapter...and let me tell you, chapter six took some doing. Plus my beta, **Forgotten-Relic** was in the middle of finals for her summer classes so she couldn't get back to me in a prompt and timely manner. But no worries! Chapter six is complete, chapter seven is in progress, and hopefully my beta now has a little bit more time on her hands. On top of which, was not accepting the document so I had reformat it several times before it finally decided to stop being stupid and accept it.

Also, I don't know how many of you are also members at the BWR Archive, but I am now officially posting there as well, just because it seemed like a good idea, plus it's a more concentraited fandom. Just like here, my penname is **mercyangel09** so if you want, look me up there, where I am also offering up my services as a beta reader. With multiple writing classes under my belt, an MLA handbook at my disposal, and a vast love of all things literature I offer myself up as a beta here as well. Just send me a private message if you'd like me to beta for you!

And now for what you've all been waiting for!

* * *

Lorelai was grateful that her parents didn't question her reappearance in the diner with Luke's arm wrapped around her waist. Perhaps Emily and Richard had finally warmed to the idea of the two of them as a pair, or perhaps they had realized that it was futile to try and change Lorelai's mind. After all, she had been married to Christopher and that had gone nowhere.

After lunch her parents left to return to Hartford and Lorelai returned to the Inn. Michel was at the desk carefully writing in the hourly log of events at the Inn, and looked up when she sidled up to him.

"That filthy diner man was in here looking for you," he said drolly as he continued writing. "I have no idea whatever for."

"His name is Luke, Michel, and he was checking up on me."

"What are you, twelve?"

"He's just a concerned friend," Lorelai responded. "He's making sure I don't go postal now that Rory's gone."

"Whatever," Michel answered with an irritated sigh.

Rolling her eyes in frustration, Lorelai headed to the kitchen for an after lunch cup of coffee. Walking in she saw Sookie lecturing one of the prep cooks on the proper slicing techniques for the carrots. "Hey Sookie, give the man some credit - he did come highly recommended," Lorelai cut in when she noticed that the young man looked ready to dash.

"Oh hey, Luke was looking for you, but I didn't know where you were. You should probably call him," Sookie said, her mind now occupied with the curious event earlier at the Inn.

"He called me, while I was sitting in the diner no less," Lorelai responded as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Sookie laughed. "Where did he call you from?"

"His apartment. Apparently in Hulk mode, he doesn't exactly look to see who's sitting in the diner," Lorelai responded with a soft giggle. "I knocked on his door. I can't imagine why he was wigging out the way he was."

"He's worried about you," Sookie said as she started slicing up chicken breasts for her stir-fry. "This is Luke we're talking about. Luke, who becomes insanely protective of you. The same Luke who told Max that he'd be there all the time, no matter what. Luke never really let go of you after you two broke off your engagement."

"Was it obvious?" Lorelai asked as she leaned against the island.

"Oh hon, everyone could tell," Sookie replied as she stopped her cutting and focused on Lorelai. "He waited for so long for you to notice him, and then things started working against you just when you finally did. There was your mother, then the sudden revelation of April - not exactly conducive to a happily ever after. There was so much emotional baggage the airline would have to charge you for it."

"Gee, thanks," Lorelai said dryly.

"You know what I mean," Sookie replied with an exasperated sigh. "But the whole town knows that you two belong together. Luke wouldn't do half the things he does if it wasn't for you. Taylor wasn't kidding when he said that you had pull with Luke. Maybe he was doing it to impress you, or maybe you just made him realize the value of actually participating in these crazy town events, but he participated just the same. I think, deep down, he never wanted to marry Nicole," Lorelai shuddered at the mention of Luke's ex-wife, "but did it because he thought that he would never have a chance with you."

"Nicole," Lorelai said with the same disdain she had used when the couple were married. "Evil, awful woman."

"Not the best thing that's ever happened to Luke. He's a good-old boy," Sookie said.

Lorelai snickered, "Luke Duke, driving the General, er, who's another famous Confederate general?"

Sookie paused. "Why not the General Lee?"

"Because the General Lee is a muscle car, Luke drives a truck. Name a Confederate general that fits a truck!"

"I don't know," Sookie said in disappointment, "Robert E. Lee is the big name."

"There has to be someone else!" Lorelai wracked her brain and finally came up with something. "Ohh! Jackson, Stonewall Jackson!"

"Stonewall?" Sookie giggled.

"I think it referenced the fact that he was known for his steadfast battle positions, or something like that," Lorelai said with a dismissive wave. "I'd ask Rory, but she's probably busy. However she said she'd call me when she's settled and hopefully I can ask her about it. She's a Yale grad, dammit, she ought to know!"

"That's right!" Sookie cheered.

The two burst into giggles before it died down and Lorelai looked thoughtful. "Luke and I are dating again."

Sookie, who was mid-chop, stopped and stared at Lorelai. "What?!"

"I thought you knew," Lorelai said nonplussed. "I told you about the whole breakfast thing."

"Yeah, but when did you decide to start dating again?"

"The day Rory left for Iowa. Yesterday. I didn't want to be at the Crap Shack-"

"Can you still call it the Crap Shack since you've remodeled?" Sookie asked.

"Okay, that was off topic. I guess not, but I don't know what else to name it. It doesn't seem like a Robert or a Mack."

"I suppose not."

"Anyway," Lorelai said, stressing that she was going to get back on topic, "I went to the diner to see Luke. I really needed to see him."

"Wow."

"I know. He could tell that I was miserable and he said, 'Let's go home,' like it was the most natural thing in the world. He didn't say, 'I'll take you home,' he very distinctly said, 'Let's go home.'"

"Double wow."

Lorelai only nodded.

"Well, hon, you've got to do whatever it takes to keep him. Don't mess this up."

"Hey, he was equally guilty for messing things up."

"True, true. So, have you two resolved the whole April issue?"

"There wouldn't have been an April issue but he made an April issue," Lorelai sighed. "Hello, I had a kid at 16! It would be extremely hypocritical of me to get all upset of the fact that he also has a kid, who was born when he was 31."

"That's a very good point."

"I wanted to get to know April, Sookie. I knew that I was meant to be with Luke, that he was always going to be a part of my life. If he was a part of my life, then so was she. I knew that he was just getting to know her, but at the same time, as her future step-mother, I wanted to get to know her as well."

"Did you tell him this?"

"I related it to him via Sherry."

"Sherry? Christopher's Sherry?"

"The same. She and Chris were really serious when they came to see Rory's debate. Sherry felt this insane need to instantly bond with Rory, and I hated every second of it. I hated the idea of someone else trying to play mom to my kid. But because Chris was serious about Sherry, marriage serious, I knew I didn't have a choice. She was going to be part of Chris's life."

"So you're saying that you wanted to instantly bond with April."

"I'm saying that I understood how he felt. I knew he didn't like the idea of me getting close and that Anna really didn't like the idea of me getting close, but as his fianc?, that meant that I should have been allowed to spend some time with her, get her adjusted to me, allow her to get to know me. He may not have liked it, but it was necessary."

"So what exactly was his big hang-up, anyway? You never said anything."

"He was afraid that she would like me more, because I'm more fun."

Sookie rolled her eyes as she sighed. "Men. You are more fun, but he's her father. A bond like that isn't won over by whom is more fun."

"I know that, and you know that, but there was this long standing rumor about town that Luke was a confirmed bachelor. I seem to recall Taylor and some of the other members of the re-enactors likening Luke to his bitter, old Uncle Louie."

"Says the person who told him he was nothing like his Uncle Louie."

"Sookie."

"Sorry. Lorelai, you know that all I want is for you to be happy. I know that Luke makes you happy in a way that I've never seen before. Just make sure you don't lose him again, okay? If your relationship starts to go down the crapper-"

"I'll find you or a nice bottle of tequila."

"Me, and maybe there'll be wine."

"Ooh! And cheese! There's always good cheese when you have wine!"

* * *

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was the most revered Confederate general, behind Robert E. Lee. He is considered one of the most gifted tactical leaders in United States military history, and military historians around the world have studied his strategies, particularly the Valley Campaign. He earned the nickname "Stonewall" at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as the First Battle of Manassas) when Brig. Gen. Bernard Elliot Bee, Jr. said, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Follow me." This was later quoted as, "Look at Jackson standing there like a damned stone wall!" which could also be true because Bee was soon killed in action after making his stone wall remark and none of his subordants wrote an offical report nor took down the quote for posterity (pity). Though the two quotes have vastly different meanings, the first an attempt to rally the men to fight to the end even against seemingly impossible odds, the second is decidedly a jibe at the unfailing discipline in Jackson's men, they both refer to the steadfast nature of Jackson's military traning and his subsequent behavior on the battlefield...

...Says the girl with the college degree in history. Special thanks to Wikipedia for being such a quick refernce, James M. MacPherson for writing such an awesome book, _The Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era_ (yes, I do own a copy) and Dr. Bauman of WSU Tri-Cities for making a class on the Civil War and Reconstruction better than a Ken Burns documentary.

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Mercy-Angel-09


	5. Those Adorable Gilmore Girls

**To Be With You Tomorrow  
Chapter 5: Those Adorable Gilmore Girls  
****Rating: T  
Disclaimer: **Standard  
**Author's Notes:  
**Once again it's been a bit of wait for this chapter. I had some serious writer's block, and further delays were caused by my beta's busy schedule. Hopefully all of my readers haven't abandoned ship. Please, please, please hang tight! It will all be worth while. I promise!

Again, thanks to everyone who leave reviews (I do so love them) and a very special thanks to **Forgotten-Relic, **my totally awesome beta.

* * *

Lorelai left the Dragonfly at four thirty, figuring that she would need ample time to primp for her date with Luke. She dashed into the house and past Paul Anka who was sleeping on the stairs. Heading to her closet she started agonizing. What did a person wear on a third first date? Was it even proper to have a third first date? Would it be awkward? Where would he take her?

Lorelai's head started to spin when the phone rang, and happy for the distraction dove on to the bed and answered with an agonized, "Hello?"

"Wow, Mom, you sound awful. You can't miss me that much," Rory teased from the other end.

"Hey kid, you have perfect timing, you know that?"

"Well, they wanted to make me the Psychic of the Year, but apparently Miss Cleo had a hold on that title," Rory answered, creating her own little bit. "So what's up?"

"What do you wear on a third first date?"

"What?"

"Don't say what, say pardon."

"Thank you Pamela Jones. So who are you having a third first date with?"

"Luke."

"What?!"

"Oh don't sound so surprised, missy! You were the one who sent him over here first thing this morning!"

"I sent him over there to get you out of bed, not ask you out on a date!"

"Actually, I did the asking."

"How did you manage that?"

"Well, he made the mistake of asking me what I wanted."

"Besides him naked in your bed?"

"Why does everyone always assume that's the only thing I want out of him? I could have asked him to keep me in coffee until the day I die."

"As logical as that particular choice seems, everyone also knows that you've been trying to repair your relationship with Luke, and by the look on your face when you were in a full blown relationship with him, I'm willing to bet that the sex was great. You two were pretty touchy-feely in your relationship, I might add."

"Fine, fine," Lorelai conceded. "Anyway, when he refused the whole sex thing," this elicited a triumphant, "Ha!" from Rory, "I asked if he would join me for dinner. I'm not exactly relishing the idea of eating alone."

"Mom, you had to eat alone when I was at Yale."

"When you were at Yale, I was dating Jason, and then I was dating Luke, then I was engaged to Luke, and then I was married to your father…I wasn't exactly alone for most of your college career."  
"And when you were alone, you just went to the diner."

"But I sat alone! I had no one to talk to because Luke was working. Occasionally he would talk to me, but he had to attend to the other customers. Now we're getting off topic. Where the hell does a person go on a first third date?"

"Well, you went to Sniffy's on your very first date, right?"

"Technically our first date was Liz's wedding."

"I mean, your first date where he came to the house, picked you up, and then took you some place other than the diner."

"Yes, that was Sniffy's."

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. What about your second first date?"

Lorelai chewed on her lower lip as she thought about her second first date with Luke. "We went to Marino's."

"Okay then, so you have a fifty-fifty chance that you're headed to Sniffy's or Marino's."

"He said that he'd pick me up at seven," Lorelai offered up.

"So I'm betting on Sniffy's then. Go ahead and wear your blue and white vertical stripped button down and a nicer pair of jeans with your black ankle boots. It's casual but dressy, because I'm pretty sure that Luke will probably be wearing a button down and jeans. He's not a slacks kind of guy."

"You're telling me," Lorelai sighed. "So, are you sure that this will suffice?"

"Totally. Go for that whole _Urban Cowboy_ look."

"Rory?"

"Yeah Mom?"

"Are you okay with me and Luke dating again?"

"Mom, he's waited for over ten years. I think you two are meant to be, you just had to wade through a ton of crap to get here. You're very much like Buttercup and Westley, without the R.O.U.S.s and him mostly dying and…"

"I wonder what Luke and I would look like as blondes?" Lorelai mused, causing Rory to burst into giggles on the other end of the line. "So babe, you doin' okay in corn central?"

"Oh yeah, I mean, there's not a lot to see. I feel like Kevin Costner waiting for God to tell me to build it because they will come."

"Yikes. At least that one was one of the decent movies."

"Pre-_Water World_ was a good time for him."

"Indeed. Have you met any of the other journalists you're traveling with?"

"I met a girl who's coming from Washington State University."

"And that's a big deal because?"

"She has training from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication!" Rory exclaimed. "Imagine walking the same hallowed halls, the same campus, as Edward R. Murrow."

"Now, who is that again?"

"Remember _Goodnight and Good Luck_? That movie was about him!"

"That's the movie where George Clooney decided to cast that psycho senator as himself, right?"

"He used stock footage, Mom. Anyway, Murrow was revolutionary! He paved the way for Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings."

"I miss my little bundle of abnormality. So you've hit it off with this girl?"

"Well, this girl, her name is Jennie McMillan, and she said she comes from the armpit of the world. She actually comes from a World War II boomtown. The house she grew up in is in the state historic registry!"

"Fascinating."

"She said that one of the local high schools was so politically incorrect that it was constantly sparking debates. Get this, they're known as the Bombers, and while their official mascot is a B-52 Bomber plane, their unofficial mascot is a mushroom cloud."

"Mushroom cloud as in Bikini Atoll mushroom cloud?"

"Apparently she grew up down wind of a nuclear power plant, and that they used to manufacture weapons grade plutonium until the mid-sixties. In fact, the plutonium for the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan was manufactured there."

"Wow. No wonder they're the Bombers."

"Yeah. I guess she said the other high schools in the area are pretty non-descript though. The other high school in town has a falcon for a mascot, and that's the school that Jennie went to. Others included the Bulldogs, the Braves, the Lions, the Suns, and Blue Devils. Pretty non-descript."

"Kind of like the Minute Men."

"Yeah, kind of. Anyway, Jennie's a pretty big coffee addict too. She's even been to the very first Starbucks and she has vowed to take me where when we stop in Seattle."

"The very first Starbucks? Mommy wants pictures! And video! Send me videos! And just where exactly is the first Starbucks?"

"Apparently it's located near the Pike Street Market."

"Cool. Historic."

"I know. Hopefully we'll have enough time in Seattle that I can hit up the E.M.P and get Lane and Zach a few tee-shirts, maybe even something for Steve and Kwan."

"Then they will build a shrine to you, their goddess of music, Rory Gilmore."

"I can feel the love now."

"Well, kid, as much as I would love to talk to you until my lips go numb and I have no voice, I have to get ready for my date with Luke."

"You two crazy kids have fun, and don't do anything stupid," Rory said in her best mother tone.

"Yes Mom," Lorelai answered, sounding as petulant as possible. "I love you kid. Good luck and try to have a little fun."

"Don't worry, Jennie and I seem to have formed a little part of insanity among all the common sense so things will definitely be interesting from here on out," Rory said, her tone implying all sorts of semi-wicked mischief. "I love you, too, Mom and I miss you like crazy."

"Kid, you have no idea." Sensing that she would start bawling and then cause Rory to start bawling she moved on with the conversations. "Go give the Democrats hell for your grandparents."

"I fully intend on it," Rory said. "Bye!"

"Bye!" Lorelai hit the 'End' button on the phone and flopped down on the bed once more. She lay there for ten minutes before she looked at the clock and groaned. She needed to get into the shower and make sure that her shirt was pressed. She was actually going to try and be ready on time, rather than make Luke wait for her to be ready.

Walking into the bathroom, she started up the shower to warm the water before stripping off her clothes and tossing them in the hamper. Stepping into the stream of warm water, Lorelai allowed it to wash her worries away. This was Luke, after all – her best friend, her rock, her lover, and confidant. She told him things that she couldn't bring herself to tell Rory. She cried on his shoulder when she knew that no one else would understand. Every time Christopher turned her world upside down she knew that he would be there to patiently listen as she vented and ranted about how everyone else was allowed to live happily ever after except for her. She reached for the shampoo, and as she began to wash her hair, thought back to all that Luke had done for her and Rory.

Obviously he was the primary coffee provider. But he always seemed to go beyond the call of duty with them. The year after they met, Luke offered to fix things around the Crap Shack. Lorelai had at first refused, saying that she could just call plumbers, electricians and all around repair men to do the work, but then Luke overheard Rory say something to Miss Patty about Lorelai's impending birthday and he found his loophole.

"Call it a gift," he had said as he refilled her coffee cup. "Five hours of labor around your house to get it fixed up. Not completely fixed, mind you, but to take care of the odds and ends."

"For my birthday?" Lorelai had asked suspiciously. She was used to strings being attached.

"For your birthday. Take it or leave it." He turned to walk away but Lorelai's hand had shot out and grabbed the hem of his flannel shirt.

She looked up at him with those big blue Gilmore eyes. "I'll take it. Can you come over on Saturday? I have the day off and I'll be there to let you in."

"What time?"

"Around ten?"

Luke gave her a small smile. "I'll be there."

And he had been there ever since. As she rinsed the shampoo from her hair and began to apply the conditioner, Lorelai thought back to later that year when Rory, at thirteen, had somehow come down with the chicken pox. Lorelai was no cook, so when Rory started asking for mashed potatoes, she frantically called Sookie, only to find out that she was busy at the Inn. She then called the only person who she knew could cook.

"Luke's"

"Oh my God, Luke, I don't know what to do!" she panicked into the phone.

"Lorelai?"

"I don't know what to do, she's asking for mashed potatoes and I can't cook. I can make anything that's instant, but I can't do mashed potatoes because she's asking for homemade mashed potatoes. I'm not Julia Child! I can't do this!"

Trying to get himself over the shock that she had actually called him Luke and not Duke, Luke stood silent for a moment.

"Luke?!" Lorelai asked, her voice taking on a panicked edge.

"I'm here," he said reassuringly. "I'll stop by Doose's and pick up everything I'll need and be right over." Calling out to Cesar that he was going out for a bit, Luke rushed to the store and picked up all of the ingredients for his mother's special mashed potatoes before heading over to Lorelai's house.

She jumped into his arms when she answered the door and found him standing on the porch with Doose's Market bags in hand. "I'm so happy to see you! Rory wants mashed potatoes, and what kind of mother would I be if I couldn't give them to her?"

"It'll be fine, Lorelai," Luke said as he strode into the kitchen. He started rustling around until he found a pot large enough for the potatoes and filled it with water and put it on the stove. "Make your self useful and start peeling," he said as he handed her a peeler and a potato. Lorelai did as instructed and began to peel away, and Luke was impressed with her technique.

She looked up to see him looking at her with interest and she shrugged. "Mia wouldn't let me just sit around the kitchen doing nothing, so I learned how to peel the veggies."

"You won't eat them, but you know how to prep them," Luke noted with a wry smile.

"I'm sadistic that way. I take out my frustrations on them."

"Is Rory okay?"

"She has the chicken pox." Suddenly it occurred to Lorelai that she might be exposing Luke to the virus. "Oh my God, I didn't tell you!"

"It's fine," Luke said as he began to cut up the potatoes that Lorelai had peeled. "I was itchy as hell in the third grade. I got it and then my mom insisted on exposing Liz to it as well. We suffered together."

"Liz?" This was the first time Lorelai had heard the name.

"She's my sister. She's two years older than you, and three years younger than me."

Lorelai nodded. "I got them when I was in the fourth grade. I was itchy and miserable, and my parents wouldn't come near me, so maybe I wasn't completely miserable." She smiled at the memory.

Luke continued to work magic at her stove, adding other ingredients to the mashed potatoes. She watched him add a can of cream of mushroom soup, pieces of bacon, sour cream and shredded cheese. "What are you doing?" she asked as she walked up to his side and peered into the pot.

"Just making them a little more substantial," Luke replied as he stirred the combo together. "My mom used to make these. I haven't made them in years."

"Wow," Lorelai breathed. "Thank you." She looked up into his eyes and was moved by the concern in them. The fact that she had been teasing him mercilessly for the last year and a half calling him Duke suddenly made her feel guilty, especially since he had been fairly tolerant of her, had fixed her house for her birthday, and now was making his mother's special mashed potatoes for Rory. "Really, thank you."

"Not a problem," he said as he looked away. "These are ready. I made a large batch and they'll keep for a few days. They heat really well in the oven, just put them in a baking dish and serve them up when Rory gets hungry."

Lorelai didn't know what else to do, so when Luke turned to face her, she gave him yet another huge hug. "Luke, thank you so much. I was at the end of my rope."

"It's okay, Lorelai. Just take care of that kid of yours, make sure she gets better and we'll call it even, okay?"

Lorelai nodded as Luke pulled away.

"I'll be back in a few days to check on things," he said, and with that he let himself out the back door, leaving Lorelai to care for Rory.

By the time Lorelai finished reminiscing, she was done with her shower. Stepping into the steamy air of the bathroom, she wrapped herself in a towel and plodded into her bedroom to find her clothes. She found the jeans she wanted and the shirt Rory had suggested and then set about to finding the right underwear. Then she remembered that she and Luke weren't going to hook up for a little after dinner hanky panky and picked a pair of plain cotton panties and the most comfortable bra she owned.

Once in her underwear she set about doing her hair and make up, settling on soft curls and natural looking make up. Luke had seen her without make up before, so it wasn't like she had to hide anything. Throwing on her jeans, she pulled out the ironing board and iron and set about to pressing her shirt. Looking at the clock, Lorelai realized that she was going to be done getting ready early. Ten minutes early, to be exact.

And knowing Luke, he would arrive ten minutes late to accommodate the fact that she usually was late. Wow, things really had changed.

* * *

I apologize if you couldn't keep up with the Gilmore-isms. If you have any questions about any of them, you can either leave a review about the Gilmore-ism in question or send me a private message to which I will respond with (hopefully) an interesting and coherent explaination.

Another note, yes there really is a high school known as the Bombers. And yes, their official mascot is a WWII B-52 Bomber plane and their unofficial mascot is the mushroom cloud. That is something that I_ couldn't_ make up even if I tried.

**Copy and paste into review field if you are unable to write one of your own:**  
Squee! I love this and I'm totally addicted! Please continue! Squee!

Constructive criticism and critques are welcome. Suggestions are pondered. Flames **_will be_** deleted with a sadistic laugh.

Mercy-Angel-09


End file.
